A new space at CMR University is bringing together indigenous knowledge and contemporary design. NITARA, the Centre of Excellence at the Lakeside Campus, invites students to learn by engaging with materials, communities, and real-life challenges.
The word NITARA means “having a deep foundation” or “well-rooted.” That choice of name is deliberate, and it says something specific about what this Centre of Excellence intends to do, and what it believes contemporary design education has been missing.
Most students from schools of design and architecture spend their formative years learning systems, software, and styles that originate elsewhere with international references, precedents and imported frameworks. NITARA at CMR University’s Lakeside Campus is built on a different premise, that India’s indigenous craft traditions, vernacular materials, and regenerative building practices carry a depth of knowledge that modern design education has largely failed to engage with. This centre exists to change that.
A different starting point for design learning
NITARA, places indigenous craft, vernacular materials, and regenerative practices at the centre of contemporary design education. Led by Prof. Muralidhar K, Director of the School of Architecture, the centre builds on the idea that meaningful design begins with understanding context, not just form.
For many students, design education is shaped by global references and standardised frameworks. NITARA shifts that lens. It introduces the depth of India’s craft traditions, materials, and building knowledge as a serious area of study and application. This is not positioned as an alternative, but as an essential foundation that has often been overlooked.
Located within the Makerspace at the Lakeside Campus, the centre functions as a working set-up, a blend of research hub, studio, and fabrication space. Students engage in processes in which ideas move directly into making, testing, and iteration, responding to real-world materials, contexts, and constraints. The Makerspace anchors all of this activity, serving more than a build environment; it is NITARA’s core operational space, which hosts regular public workshops and skill-based sessions, extending learning beyond enrolled students and fostering a wider community of engagement. The same space supports exhibitions, open houses, and publications, where research and project outcomes are shared, making the design process visible, accessible, and participatory.
Learning through making, research, and engagement
NITARA’s work connects research, practice, and learning into a single flow.
Students participate in documenting native crafts, materials, and indigenous techniques with rigour, building a knowledge base that links to national initiatives such as the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) programme. This is paired with applied work, design consultancy for craft clusters, NGOs, and community projects, with material innovation using waste from the textile and construction industries.
The learning experience is hands-on and consistent. Internships, workshops with professional bodies such as IIA and IIID, and the ‘FullScale’ programme bring students into direct contact with industry practices. Design-led travel, national platforms such as CMR National Art Camp, and public exhibitions further extend this engagement, turning the campus into a space for dialogue and exchange.
Students are therefore not just observers in this process but contribute to projects, participate in fabrication, and work within teams that demand both technical insight and critical thinking. Civic engagement adds another dimension, with opportunities to contribute to design proposals for Bengaluru’s public spaces and community infrastructure.
Learning aligned with purpose
NITARA reflects a broader academic approach at CMR University.
It highlights the CMR’s vision, which is committed to creating, building, and providing value-added educational services through teaching, training, research, consultancy, and entrepreneurship, within and beyond the curriculum, supported by quality infrastructure, material, and human resources to help students attain intellectual depth.
At the same time, CMR is recognised for delivering quality education through its institutions of learning, guided by the belief that every individual can realise their potential through a well-rounded education. This approach focuses on nurturing the right values, scientific temperament, and social commitment, preparing students as trained professionals, inspired individuals, and responsible contributors to progress.
For students of architecture and design, this translates into a deeper understanding of materials, communities, and sustainability as lived practices rather than abstract ideas. It shapes a way of working that is grounded, adaptive, and relevant.